Planned dissolution of KPU protested

Planned dissolution of KPU protested

JAKARTA (JP): Protest mounted on Friday over the planned
dissolution of the General Election Commission (KPU), with 15
parties that failed to win seats in House of Representatives in
last year's elections calling it "a political conspiracy to
create a new status quo".

Edwin Sukowati, chairman of the National Democratic Party
(PND), said certain figures in the government and the House had
masterminded the move in their own groups' interests.

"Akbar Tandjung and the other House leaders, Ryaas Rasyid and
Andi Mallarangeng, have outspokenly made statements on the
necessity to reorganize the KPU in a bid to prevent the
commission's plan to bring to justice the thousands of violations
in last year's elections," Edwin exploded.

Akbar chairs the Golkar Party, which finished second in the
polls behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, and is
the House speaker. Ryaas is the state minister of regional
autonomy, and Mallarangeng is his assistant.

Only 19 out of the 48 parties that contested the June 1998
elections are represented in the House.

Edwin said that despite the planned disbanding of the election
commission, the minor parties would press the Supreme Court to
deal with the poll violations that were mostly committed by
Golkar supporters.

Edwin said that instead of making partial amendments to the
1999 Election Law, the House and the government should overhaul
the law completely if they wished to lay a platform for a fair
and free general election in 2004.

"We do not understand why the House wants to revise only the
law's chapter on the election commission, while the law, which is
a legacy of the former New Order government, contains numerous
substantial weaknesses," he said.

R.O. Tambunan, president of the People's Choice Party (Pilar),
said minor parties had no objection to the government's plan to
reorganize the KPU, but it should be followed by a total
amendment of the law.

"Certain figures in the House and the government should not
deceive the people and abuse democracy in their bid to create a
new status quo," he said. He added that small parties had strong
evidence of certain major parties' involvement in money politics
in the last elections.

Ridwan Saidi, chairman of the New Masyumi Party, called on the
government and the House to drop the electoral threshold ruling,
which bars parties failing to obtain at least two percent of the
votes in a general election from contesting the following one,
from the law because it was against the 1945 Constitution that
guarantees the freedom of association.

"Despite being minority, we have a right to contest the next
election," he said.

Also attending the media briefing were the chairmen of the
Indonesian Workers Party (PPI), the All Indonesian Workers Party
(SPSI) and the National Christian Party (Krisna). (rms)